


presents, what a beautiful sight

by kumquatjam



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Daggers, Gen, Gift Exchange, Let's pretend Saint Seiros Day is Christmas, Pre-Time Skip, bad gifts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-04
Updated: 2020-07-04
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:14:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25076692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kumquatjam/pseuds/kumquatjam
Summary: Everything passed in a blur: Ashe remembered getting mittens from Annette, a new book on Loog and Kyphon from Ingrid, a book of recipes from Dedue. The classroom rang loud and clear with laughter as Sylvain presented Felix with a lump of coal (“You know what you did to deserve this, Felix!”) and collectivelyawwwed as Mercedes handed Ingrid a lovingly hand-sewn stuffed pegasus. Everything was going smoothly, until—“Ah, I believe it’s my turn,” Dimitri said.--The Blue Lions do a gift exchange. Not everything goes as planned.
Comments: 17
Kudos: 49
Collections: FE3H Kink Meme





	presents, what a beautiful sight

**Author's Note:**

> For this Kink Meme prompt:
> 
> Dimitri is a very enthusiastic and well-meaning but slightly subpar gift-giver. After a couple of mishaps, the Blue Lions do some investigating and realize that this stems from his friendship with Felix.
> 
> (Dimitri thinks of Felix as the hardest person to buy a meaningful gift for and thus adopted the mantra of "if it'll please Felix, someone more easygoing would definitely like it".)
> 
> \+ Pre-TS  
> ++ Daggers
> 
> https://3houseskinkmeme.dreamwidth.org/1608.html?thread=2214984#cmt2214984

“Happy Saint Seiros Day!”

On this chilly winter day, Ashe was grateful for the distraction that the holiday brought. The whole monastery was on edge after what had happened last month, and Byleth had been even more distant than they already had been. Still, the church had deemed it acceptable for the students to celebrate, and Ashe was excited for the gift exchange between the other students in the house. He piled his neatly wrapped gifts in his arms and checked his room one last time before heading toward the Blue Lions classroom.

His classmates were already gathered, pushing the tables into an approximate circle and piling the presents atop them. “Ashe! You’re finally here,” Annette cried out, enfolding him in a hug. Dedue gave him a respectful nod as he sat down. “Now we can finally begin!”

“Does anyone want to go first?” Mercedes asked.

Everything passed in a blur: Ashe remembered getting mittens from Annette, a new book on Loog and Kyphon from Ingrid, a book of recipes from Dedue. The classroom rang loud and clear with laughter as Sylvain presented Felix with a lump of coal (“You know what you did to deserve this, Felix!”) and collectively _awww_ ed as Mercedes handed Ingrid a lovingly hand-sewn stuffed pegasus. Everything was going smoothly, until—

“Ah, I believe it’s my turn,” Dimitri said, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. He drew his stack of presents closer to him. Up close, they all seemed rather… oblong. And pointy? Ashe watched as Dimitri picked up the one closest to him, wrapped in shiny pink paper. “Here you go, Annette,” Dimitri said, handing it over. Annette tore into it with enthusiasm, only to reveal… a bright orange dagger?

“I had it specially crafted from the blacksmith in town. It’s imbued with magic,” Dimitri said, ducking his head. “Do you like it?”

“It’s certainly something,” Annette managed. Her smile was more of a grimace as she turned the garish weapon over in her hands. “Thank you, Your Highness!” Despite her hesitation, she still enwrapped him in a surprisingly strong hug for her size.

“This is for Dedue,” Dimitri said, picking up the next gift. Dedue ripped the packaging open to reveal a brown dagger. “I had the blacksmith inscribe the hilt with well wishes in the Duscur language!” Dimitri said happily as Dedue inspected the blade. Dedue gave his liege a rare smile as he sheathed it again, nodding in approval. “It’s quite a fine weapon, Your Highness. Much appreciated.”

“Ah, and this one’s for Ingrid,” Dimitri exclaimed, passing it over. Ingrid opened the box cautiously, to the sight of an overly ornamental yellow dagger. “I liked the pegasus wings motif carved into the blade! It reminded me of you,” Dimitri said. Ingrid smiled wanly. “I’m sure I’ll make good use of it, Your Highness,” she said bravely, a bald faced lie.

“Sylvain, you’re next.” Sylvain opened his gift, pulling out a crimson dagger. “A dagger? Your Highness, I’m flattered,” he teased. “Shouldn’t you save such a gift for the ladies?”

“Sylvain, there’s no need to speak of such things,” Dimitri spluttered, going as red as the dagger he had just handed Sylvain. There was a story behind that, Ashe was sure.

“Now this is for you, Mercedes,” Dimitri said, handing it over. Ashe was pretty sure all of them knew what was happening by now, but Mercedes maintained her small smile as she unwrapped her tan dagger.

“It’s imported from the Empire,” Dimitri explained. “I found it from a traveling merchant near Fhirdiad.”

“It’s very well made,” Mercedes said diplomatically. Ashe was pretty sure he’d never seen her use a dagger in her life.

By the time it was his turn, Ashe had already resigned himself to his fate. “A silver hunting dagger,” he exclaimed, extricating it from the box. Dimitri was looking at him expectantly. “Many thanks, Your Highness.” He shot Dimitri a smile, which the prince returned eagerly.

Finally, it was Felix’s turn.

“Ah, this is my favorite one! A dagger by the famed swordsmith, Zoltan,” Dimitri beamed, handing it over to a suddenly bright red Felix. 

“Thanks,” Felix muttered gruffly, quickly stuffing it away. Who was he joking? Everyone had seen his eyes light up like a little kid’s. Ashe was almost certain that the first thing he’d do when he returned to his room would be to stare at it for hours. 

After the gift exchange, the room cleared out slowly. Felix had been the first to leave, gone in a flash. “You left your gifts behind!” Sylvain yelled to no avail. All he had taken with him was the dagger Dimitri had given him. Annette and Mercedes wandered off next, chatting about magical hot cocoa. Ingrid and Sylvain stayed for a while longer; Ingrid insisted on helping clean up, but Sylvain eventually convinced her to head to the dining hall with him for a late dinner. After ensuring Dimitri had the rest of the cleanup handled, Dedue retired to his quarters as well. Soon, it was just Ashe and Dimitri.

“Ashe, can I ask you something?” Dimitri asked, sweeping up the last of the wrapping paper.

“Of course, Your Highness,” Ashe said.

“Did everyone… like my gifts?”

“They were certainly very _unique_ ,” Ashe said. Was he allowed to insult the prince’s gift choices, or was that considered treason? “Why did you choose to give everyone a dagger, anyway?”

Dimitri blushed. “Well, if I’ll be honest, I was at quite a loss for what to do with regards to the gift exchange. I thought, well, Felix is the pickiest person I know, and if he liked a gift, everyone else would be bound to as well. I've given Felix a dagger for his birthday every year since we were very young, after all, and he's always loved it. However, it seemed as though my gifts did not receive as warm a reception as anticipated.” He looked up, meeting Ashe’s eyes. He reminded Ashe of a kicked puppy.

Ashe closed the distance between them, patting the prince’s arm. “It’s okay, Your Highness,” he said sympathetically. “I’ll go shopping with you next year.”


End file.
